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Durban - Three robbers broke into Science and Technology
Deputy Minister Zanele Magwaza-Msibi's plush Umhlanga residence and held her
daughter at knife-point on Wednesday morning.

The robbers got away with a large amount of cash from a
concealed safe, leaving the house “upside down” as they pillaged the National
Freedom Party leader’s home for loot.

The balaclava-clad intruders reportedly demanded the code to
the electronic safe from Magwaza-Msibi’s daughter while threatening her with
knives. The politician was not at home at the time.

A ditched iPhone has been recovered and a domestic worker
has been taken in for questioning.

The robbers had discarded the iPhone on Umhlanga Rocks
Drive, where cyclist Donald Ensor saw its reflection and stopped to pick it up.

“I have quite a bright light on my bicycle and while I was riding
I saw this phone lying in the road near the pavement. I picked it up and put it
in my pocket; I didn’t even look if it was on,” he said.

“When it rang, I answered it and was told it had been taken
in a robbery. I handed it into the police station when I was done with the
ride,” Ensor added.

'Traumatic experience'

The politician reportedly boarded an early flight from Cape
Town back to Durban after news of the robbery reached her.

In a statement, the National Freedom Party president said
the robbery happened at around 03:45.

“Two men armed with knives and one of them wearing a
balaclava broke into my house. They broke down my door and went into the
bathroom and left everything upside down,” she said.

“It’s a very traumatic experience and my daughter, who was
at the house at the time, is still in shock and traumatised.

“While I am grateful that my daughter was not hurt, as a
mother, I cannot imagine the trauma she went through as she was accosted by
armed men.

“This incident demonstrates the high levels of crime in our
country,” she added.

“They took valuables. At the moment, we do not want to
speculate and will allow police to do their work,” she said, not elaborating on
how much was stolen.

Inside knowledge

A police source close to the investigation said that a
domestic worker was being questioned.

“It is apparent that the intruders knew about the existence
of the safe and that points to them having a knowledge of the home and its
contents,” he said.

He added that use of a balaclava to conceal their faces
indicated that they could be known to the family.

“The iPhone is able to pinpoint the location and these guys
were smart, they would rather throw it away than be caught.”

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